Feast Blog

I have long been a fan of chef Laurent Manrique and San Francisco has been abuzz with anticipation when it was announced that he would be taking over the helm at The Fifth Floor (thus named for being on the fifth floor of the Palomar Hotel). With being open just two days, I am my friend, Lisa, headed for their first Friday night dinner. The interior décor had not changed much; still redolent with warm brown walls, floors, and tables. There is a nice punctuation of color with elegant red lights in the ceiling.

Perusing the menu, we were saddened to learn from our jovial waiter, Christian, that a tasting menu was not yet available but would be in the future. Lisa and debated what to get and how to order as much as we could without breaking the bank and tasting as much as possible. I readily admit to invoking the name of a mutual friend of mine and the chef’s to see if a tasting menu was remotely possible. "We can always ask," Christian said, as he headed back to the kitchen to inquire. God bless Laurent as he agreed to put something together for us. I did feel a bit of an imposition asking, but was thrilled he will willing to accommodate us.

Drinking some Perrier Jouet Champagne, a trio of amuse arrived; smoked shrimp, potato croquettes, and a cold, creamy yogurt carrot soup. A very promising beginning! There was some debate on wines. As there was no tasting menu as yet established, there was also no set wine pairings. The restaurant’s aptly named sommelier, Emily Wines, was very insightful and helpful. I am a huge fan of Rhône wines, especially in whites — much preferring them to overly oaked and buttery California Chardonnay. Even though the chef wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to put together for a tasting menu, Emily worked in concert with what the chef was preparing to design a fabulous pairing experience for us.

Amuse – smoked shrimp, potato croquette, chilled carrot yogurt – Perrier Jouet Champagne. We were already having a lovely time. Besides the amuse, a comment needs to be made of the bread cart. Yes, I said bread cart… While perusing the menu, a cart is wheeled up with a variety of breads to choose from; several from Laurent’s home town, rolls, breads, etc. Served with your breads of choice are two butters, one from cow’s milk and a goat’s milk cheese. The goat’s milk cheese was definitely different; white and creamy with the piquant goaty flavor that many hate and I adore.

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  William Bayer (left) is an internationally-renowned crime author. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages, his books have been transformed into television movies, and he has won numerous awards for his writing. He is also my Art Buddy.

Once a month, Bill and I go on various art adventures; galleries, private collections, or museums. Our gatherings involve lunch while we catch up on local chit-chat and gossip, plans and projects, and our respective artistic endeavors. Then we head out for several hours to the splendor of our eyes and minds and souls. We are cut from the same cloth, Bill and I are: Lovers of many mediums, aficionados of emotive arrangement, debaters of classical forms, or simply gluttons of the primal desire for beauty…

He is a man with exquisite and discerning taste. When I first met him — through his wife, Paula Wolfert — I was taken with his stunning collection of Art Deco silver, North African bedouin curved daggers, and a voluminous collection of over-sized film noir one-sheets (movie posters). How could I not be star-struck? We shared a love of film which for him, I’m sure began being raised by an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Eleanor Perry. We bonded early over our love of films when he learned I was *trying* to explain to some online foodie community ignoramuses that Casablanca was NOT a noir film. It turned out that he had not only written numerous crime novels, but one specifically close to my heart, THE GREAT MOVIES:In Cinema History, 60 Films Deserve to be Called.

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